Dan Steven Erickson

Writing

Unfinished

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As a poet and songwriter, I have a lot of work that is still unfinished. That’s the way writing works for me. I come up with an idea for a poem or a song and write it down quickly. Sometimes, I’ll write a song lyric in ten minutes before bed or in the early morning. Later, I’ll try to work it into music. Often, I’ll decide the lyric isn’t strong enough and let the whole idea sit for awhile. Sometimes they become completed songs and other times they simply go into an “unfinished ideas” file.

Today, I’d like to share some words to a lyric I’ve been playing with awhile. The lyric is currently in my unfinished files. The potential song is titled “When Superman Dies.”

Baby, nobody’s gonna live forever
How you ever gonna make it on your own?
If you can’t go five minutes without calling out his name
If you’re always too afraid to be alone
Who’ll be there to rescue you?
When his life here on Earth is through

Whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?
Cause even superheroes fall from the skies
He’s getting closer to leaving this world behind
So whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?

He sacrificed his life when you were young
But now he’s growing weary and gray
He can’t go on living in a co-dependent world
When he feels his superpowers stripped away
Who’ll be there to understand?
You can’t hold onto a dead man’s hand

Whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?
Because every superhero comes to their demise
He’s getting closer to leaving this world behind
So whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?

Now his cape is torn and tattered
And his eyesight’s growing dim
His blood is getting thicker every hour
If you only knew the secret
Of your Superman within
Baby, your weakness is your superpower

Whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?
Cause even superheroes fall from the skies
He’s getting closer to leaving this world behind
So whatcha gonna do when Superman dies?
Don’t look now but he’s fading tonight
What ya gonna do when Superman dies?

Copyright 2022 by Dan Steven Erickson

Change

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Webb City Missouri – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

Summer is quickly giving way to my favorite time of year. I love the autumn because it brings change. The trees grow bare and everything seems a little more simple, if only for a season.

I gave up four blogs and started this site a little over a year ago. Why? Because I wanted change. The goal was to streamline all my creative interests into one place. So this website became the home of Dan Steven Erickson. It includes my creative thoughts, writing, music, songwriting, poetry, books, photography, and minimalist design. Too much?

Change is a funny thing. We simultaneously fear and long for change. Dumping four blogs with several years worth of work was scary. (I did copy and save the content.) But I needed a clean slate to present my creative work in a new way. I’d grown tired of trying to sell myself as a blogger, writer, and a minimalist. This site is just me as an artist, a creator, me.

The wheels are still turning and more change is coming. Soon, I’ll begin to add some recordings of my songwriting to the mix. I’ve actually been writing songs longer than anything else on my list of creative endeavors. I get stuck at the recording and presentation of that work. That is going to change. I’ve accepted the fact that I don’t have the money, time, or equipment to make great state-of-the-art recordings. Believe me, I wish I did. However, I do have access to some basic recording equipment and have been working on some simple guitar/vocal tracks.

Change is good. Sometimes it’s hard and we have to push through, but it’s good. Check back for a new “Songs” page soon. – dse

Pondering

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I like to ponder things. I like to tinker, too, but that’s another story. This morning I’m pondering my recent experience at Rodney Crowell’s songwriting camp. I attended the camp along with 125 other songwriters. First off, it was a great experience and I was thoroughly entertained. But I want to do a little pondering beyond that.

I hope this post is okay. There was an unsigned “what happens at songwriting camp stays at songwriting camp” kind of thing we discussed on the first day. Sorry, if I’m stepping out of line, Billy.

I’d like to reiterate that my overall experience at the camp was wonderful. What did I learn? I picked up a few helpful bits of information on songwriting. However, as a college professor myself, I thought the curriculum could have been slightly improved. The camp is great for beginning and intermediate writers, but might be stronger for advanced writers with more rigorous material for the level.

I consider myself an advanced songwriter, one who continually pushes myself to master the art. I walked away with some inspiration to continue on that path, but I’m left pondering. Why?

It seems to me that success in the creative world is for the young, the few, the driven, the lucky. I’m almost 60 years old. I missed the boat a long time ago. So why do I keep writing songs? The chance of my work gaining commercial success recedes the more I focus on refining the art. It’s true. The best songwriting is not always what the masses want to hear.

But in my pondering I’ve come to a conclusion. I continue to write songs for the same reasons I compose ambient music and write books and poetry. Because all of this creative work that I do is a form of pondering. And as I said at the start of this piece, I like to ponder. The definition of ponder is to think about something carefully before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. That’s exactly what good songwriters do.

So with that definition in mind, Rodney Crowell’s songwriting camp was a smashing success. I’ll be pondering Joe Henry’s songwriting process for years to come. I’ll continue to work toward more innovative chord progressions and melodic structures as Joe Henry, Beth Nielsen-Chapman, and Lera Lynn all demonstrated so beautifully, and generously. Instead of running from, I’ll keep leaning into the hurt and pain of this life as Mike Reid preached so wisely. And I’ll stick to hard rhymes, Rodney, except when I don’t.

Maybe, I’ll be back next year. – dse

America the Spiritual

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I usually make a point to stay away from political posts on this website. However, after the recent Supreme Court decision, I was a bit concerned about the freedoms in our country. So, I decided to write a parody of America the Beautiful. The way I see it, we are being ruled by religion as much as politics in this country. That is concerning to me.

I used one of the oldest versions of the original song as my base and kept the original rhyme scheme in most places.

America the Spiritual 

Oh spiritual for darkened skies
For blessed waves of pain
From Trump appointed majesties
Below the hellfire plain
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But you stomped Her crown into the ground
From sea to shining sea

Oh spiritual for shyster’s feet
Whose cold corruptions stress
A thoroughfare for rich men beat
For greed and to impress
America, America
God will not mend your flaw
You’ve lost your soul, no self-control
No liberty in law

Oh spiritual for Christians proved
With debilitating strife
Who less than self, their country loved
And dogma more than life
America, America
May God be forced divine
‘Til all success be wickedness
And every gain be mine

Oh spiritual for patriot scheme
That’s blind beyond two beers
Thine desecrated cities steam
With infinite amount of tears
America, America
God She’d Her Grace on thee
But you stomped Her crown into the ground
From sea to shining sea

Oh spiritual for polluted skies
For blessed waves of pain
From Trump appointed majesties
Around his orange stain
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
‘Til souls wax dead from states so red
And the kind-hearted flee

Oh spiritual for shyster’s feet
Whose cold corruptions stress
A thoroughfare for rich men beat
For greed and to impress
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But paths be blocked and doors be locked
At behest of your decree

Oh spiritual for glory’s fail
With debilitating strife
When selfish ways for man’s avail
Dictates how we all live life
America, America
God she’d Her Grace on thee
But selfish gain is all that remains
And the banner waves not free

New Tools

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We creators need tools for creating. Today, I updated my primary creator tool. Until 2020, I used a MacBook Air for all of my writing and publishing, and an iPad Mini for my musical compositions. In 2020, a friend swore I’d be better off with an iPad Pro. I took his advice, sold my MacBook and Mini, and used the iPad Pro for both writing and music. I liked the minimalist approach but…

Truth be told, I wasn’t crazy about the iPad Pro from the start. And within a few months, I started dealing with some unfortunate glitches and issues. Over the two years of owning and using the 2020 iPad Pro, I’ve dealt with black screen, battery charging issues, GarageBand crashes, and audio problems. So today, I traded my iPad Pro for a MacBook Pro. This will be my new tool for publishing and web development. I already feel good about it.

However, I like an iPad for GarageBand and music creation. The touch screen is easy to work with. My solution will likely be to get the basic low-cost iPad at $329. That’s all I really need. Or perhaps it’s time to move up to Logic Pro, which requires a MacBook or iMac computer. In either case, it’s a step forward with new tools for the craft. – dse

Writing Books

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Although it’s been awhile, I’ve done my fair share of writing books. I have several titles under my belt, including my debut book, A Train Called Forgiveness. That book was my first, and has always been my bestseller, (which isn’t much, but who’s counting). It might make a great Netflix miniseries though.

After A Train Called Forgiveness, a creative non-fiction work that documents my experience and outcomes of being a child victim of an extreme religious cult, I continued with the cult theme and penned a trilogy. However, the second and third books are more fictional.

I’ve also written a few ebooks about minimalism and simple living. And finally, I have a book of poetry, (and a crapton of unpublished poems that I may publish in the future). You can learn more about my books below:

Now to the crux of this post. Will I ever write another book? That’s a good question.

Writing books is a different process than writing songs, composing music, and writing poetry. The results are much less immediate. I really enjoyed writing the books that I have written. But it’s a big time commitment, and without a good publisher behind you, all for little result other than the experience. That can be a bit disheartening.

Still, I wrestle with the idea of writing more books in the future. There’s a part of me that keeps wanting to get started on a new title. I have a few ideas in mind. (No, I won’t tell you.) Lately, I’ve been tempted, as I did with my first book, to use my website to write something in real time. Only time will tell. In the meantime, I encourage you to take a look at my bibliography and consider buying a book or two. – dse

Changes

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Badlands South Dakota – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

Recently, I took a week off from work to celebrate my mother’s life. It was a good experience even though it revolved around death. I got to spend time with family members that I haven’t seen for a couple of years. I also spent five days in a hotel without a teenager. It gave me time to think about life and its changes.

In 2010, I lost my dad. About five years ago, I lost my step-dad. Now my mom is gone. In the last few years, I’ve also lost two very close friends who were both about 15 years older than me. I won’t lie. It’s tough.

Although, my week of bereavement was okay, I’d be lying if I didn’t point out that life can be brutally sad at times. Life can seem both as dreary and beautiful as the Badlands.

While I was in Everett Washington, spending time with family, I couldn’t help but be constantly reminded of the past: the old house, that quirky little restaurant I used to go to with dad, churches, people, and every other little thing seemed to remind me of when things were different.

I know as we get older we will inevitably lose more loved ones. I’ve been to a lot more funerals in the past 10-15 years than ever before the age of 40, like a 10-1 ratio. That doesn’t make it any eaiser.

So why am I writing about this experience here?

Changes. That’s why. This site is my creative place. It’s where I share my poetry, my music, and my photos. And now, it’ll also be where I share more of my story, my life.

Writing as a “blogger” made me into a copycat formula writer. But that’s not the real me. I’m a living breathing human being who struggles like everyone else. Life has ups and downs. People get sick and die. We have kids. Kids have issues. We get divorces. We change jobs. Changes happen.

That’s why as I post a bit less often here, I’m also going to get more real. I’m not trying to sell you anything. Rather than how-to posts or here’s-how-I-did-it posts, I’m going to include more essays that are simply a narrative on life, my life, our lives. – dse

Time

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Boston Massachusetts – Photo by Dan Steven Erickson

I’m not afraid of dying but time’s still a terrifying thing.

There are days when death might be welcome. You know, the days when everything that could go wrong is going wrong, and you think, “What’s the point?” But more often, time has the opposite effect on me. It keeps ticking away while I keep trying to create something greater than anything I’ve ever created before. And that’s the constant dilemma.

I have a rare, slow-progressing blood cancer. My days are numbered. Even though I’m ready to go any day now, I don’t want to. I’ve still got so much I want to do. No, I’m not afraid of dying, but I want to live long enough to enjoy 15-20 years of retirement. I want to have the time to continue to work on music, poetry, books, photography, and whatever creative works I choose to complete.

Time keeps ticking. It creates a slight sense of urgency, a need to create things at a steady pace. It’s a dilemma. On one hand, it’s time to slow down, take my time, and master my art. On the other, I could die tomorrow and I want to create that piece of music that will be considered forever great before I go. – dse